I Just Want Stuffing...

It's Thanksgiving...I can hear the commercial promos (as everyone else has) in my head..."It's that time of year when we remember to give thanks..." I see it in the papers..."From our family to yours, a Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you to all our customers..." We have parades, there are moving PSAs with slow music and tear inspiring images, we give up some time to feed the homeless, drop off a turkey and some canned goods to the local food bank, or dust off the tent to camp out at Best Buy so Junior can have the latest ipad he's been whining about for Christmas.
Today I just want stuffing! It's not that I'm against Thanksgiving...I'm all for pointing people towards an "attitude of gratitude". But I don't need one particular day or even a season to do this. As a Christian and also through my work at Covenant House, I've continuously cultivated a thankful attitude towards even the mundane. I feel like I'm always thankful, even when days are tough. I thank God for morning coffee (and the 8 varieties I have in my cabinet), I thank God that I can go 2 weeks without having to do laundry because I have plenty of clothes, I have ALL family (immediate, extended, and in-law) no more than 2 hours away, I can pay my bills in full, Wawa is 7 minutes away, I have over 9 months of sick time accrued, my commute to work is only 23 minutes, my husband makes me laugh, my vacuum cleaner has a great de-fur attachment, etc.
I get a little gloomy this time of year...All the hype, the incessant urge to spendspendspend, driving ourselves crazy with concerts and obligations and parties and the like. Plus, all the food opps, which, for anyone who knows me, for me, is like an alcoholic in recovery having to sit in a bar. I used to volunteer to work on Thanksgiving just to avoid the hoopla and be a comforting presence to the kids (and had Grape Nuts for Thanksgiving dinner). 2 years ago Mark and I decided to do our own thing on Thanksgiving. We played games, hung out, and had a feast of spaghetti, sausage, and garlic bread. Ooooo! When I tell people this they get all, "But it's Thanksgiving!?" Yeah, and...?
Shouldn't we have an attitude of gratitude all the time? Shouldn't we aim to have a gathering with family in March? Why not give gifts in June? A turkey cooks just as well in August as it does in November. Food banks need the goods in April, the homeless eat all year, and every day there are multitudes of blessings to be thankful for. To quote my wonderful father, who often started every prayer with this ALL year, "Lord, we have so much for which to be thankful". Yes we do! And today, specifically, I'll be thankful for stuffing! Happy Thanksgiving!